This work examines a test case for the relationship between the polis and the Hellenistic empire focusing specifically on the interaction between Antiochus III and the cities of Western Asia Minor (226-188 BC). Such a study is possible thanks to a rich epigraphical documentation which has been reproduced extensively and translated in an appendix to this book. Dr Ma approaches this material from a variety of angles: narrative history, structural analyses of imperial power, and analyses of the functions played by language and stereotype in the interaction between rulers and ruled. The result is to further a nuanced appreciation of the relation between the Hellenistic king and the Hellenistic polis by drawing attention to the power of the Hellenistic empires, to the capacity of political language to modify power relations, and to the efforts of the Hellenistic polis to preserve its sense of identity and civic pride, if not its political independence.

This work examines a test case for the relationship between the polis and the Hellenistic empire focusing specifically on the interaction between Antiochos III and the cities of Western Asia Minor (226-188 BC). Such a study is possible thanks to a rich epigraphical documentation which has been reproduced extensively and translated in an appendix to this book. Dr Ma approaches this material from a variety of angles: narrative history, structural analyses of imperial power, and analyses of the functions played by language and stereotype in the interaction between rulers and ruled. The result is to further a nuanced appreciation of the relation between the Hellenistic king and the Hellenistic polis by drawing attention to the power of the Hellenistic empires, to the capacity of political language to modify power relations, and to the efforts of the Hellenistic polis to preserve its sense of identity and civic pride, if not its political independence.

Every student of the letters of Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Book of Revelation will find much of value in 'New Testament Cities in Western Asia Minor',Ó writes W. Ward Gasque. The author investigates the status of the archaeological information which we now have about key cities of western Asia Minor during the early Roman EmpireÓ: Assos, Pergamum, Thyateira, Smyrna, Sardis, Philadelphia, Ephesus, Miletus, Didyma, Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colossae.

A teenage king in 223 BC, Antiochus III inherited an empire in shambles, ravaged by civil strife and eroded by territorial secessions. He proved himself a true heir of Alexander: he defeated rebel armies and embarked on a campaign of conquest and reunification. Although repulsed by Ptolemy IV at the Battle of Raphia, his eastern campaigns reaffirmed Seleucid hegemony as far as modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Returning westward, he defeated Ptolemy V at Panion (200 BC) and succeeded in adding Koile Syria to the Seleucid realm. ??At the height of his powers, he challenged growing Roman power, unimpressed by their recent successes against Carthage and Macedon. His expeditionary force was crushed at Thermopylae and evacuated. Refusing to bow before Roman demands, Antiochus energetically mobilized against Roman invasion, but was again decisively defeated at the epic battle of Magnesia. Despite the loss of territory and prestige enshrined in the subsequent Peace of Apamea, Antiochus III left the Seleucid Empire in far better condition than he found it. Although sometimes presented as a failure against the unstoppable might of Rome, Antiochus III must rank as one of the most energetic and effective rulers of the Ancient world.??As well as narrating the eventful career of Antiochus III, Michael Taylor examines Seleucid military organization and royal administration.

Cityscapes consist of houses, streets, civic buildings, sanctuaries, tombs, monuments, and inscriptions created by multiple generations of citizens and foreigners with an interest in the city; they are interpreted and reinterpreted as expressions of past lives, changing relations of power, memories, and various identities. The present volume publishes 25 contributions written by scholars specializing in the history and archaeology of western Asia Minor. New and well-known material – literary, epigraphical, numismatic, and archaeological – is presented and analyzed through the twin lenses of memory and identity. The contributions cover more than 1000 years of cultural diversity during changing political systems, from the Lydian and Persian hegemony in the Archaic period through Athenian supremacy and Persian satrapal rule in the Classical period, then autocratic kingship in Hellenistic times until, finally, more than half a millennium of Roman rule. Identities are voiced through several media and visible at many levels of the ancient societies. So are the places of memory – the Lieux de Mémoire – and the studies presented here provide new insights into how human beings chose, deliberately or subconsciously, to commemorate their past and their ancestors, and how identity was displayed and expressed under shifting political rule.